Duo's Little Sister
by MoonieSquealer
Summary: At the age of seven he found her in the woods and since then they've been inseparable...until she is adopted. Duo is determined to find her and keep her close this time. Edited and re-uploaded. Rated T for content of future chapters.
1. Something's Wrong with Duo

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, its characters, nor do I own any part of the company that produced it or artist that created it. I do own Nyx as she is a character of my making.**

_**Chapter 1: Something 's wrong with Duo**_

Duo threw his helmet down on the couch with a frustrated groan. Running his hand through his chestnut bangs, he sat on a nearby chair resting his head in the palm of his hand. His comrades who were standing close by watched their friend closely. It was rare that Duo was ever in a sour mood- very rare in fact, for of all of the five fighters, he was the one who joked and laughed the most- so there was without a doubt something bothering him. Quatre, being the pacifist that he is, went over and sat in the chair next to his chest fallen comrade. "Duo," he said, his voice just short above a whisper, asking the question that was on all of their minds, "what's going on? You haven't been acting like yourself lately. Would you like to talk to a friend?"

Duo turned slowly and looked into the genuine smiling face of his friend. "Thanks Quatre," Duo replied trying to return the smile, but failing, "but would you mind if I waited a little later to talk to you, just until I have my thoughts sorted out?"

Quatre, understanding the importance of solitude for a Gundam soldier, replied with a nod and another smile, "Sure take as long as you like. Just call me whenever you're ready."

Getting up from his seat, the blond gave Duo another much needed smile before heading to his quarters. Duo, however, needed more hope than smiles to return to his usual chipper mood.

After Duo ate a small dinner consisting of bread and gravy, he made his way to Quatre's quarters to take up his earlier offer. He did want someone to talk to about this and Quatre was the most understanding of them all. Duo lingered at the door for about five minutes until he knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Quatre's voice came from behind the door.

"I- It's me." Duo replied. There was silence and then the door opened, revealing Trowa sitting in Quatre's computer chair, Wufei sitting on the floor, and Heero leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Quatre was sitting on his bed with a book titled, 'Mobile Suit Mechanics' lying open and face down on his lap. He looked up and smiled at Duo. "Come in." He said wholeheartedly.

Stepping in slowly, Duo made his way to the edge of the blonde's bed and sat down. He looked around the room at the others and then back at Quatre. He really didn't want an audience when he had just come to talk to Quatre, but the more the merrier. Looking down at the dark blue bedspread, Duo began. "I guess I should tell you what's been happening lately huh?" He laughed nervously and released a heavy sigh, "Well it all started before I became a Preventer, back when I was just a little trouble making orphan living in Maxwell Church with Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, and the rest of the orphans.

"One particular day, I just so happened to be walking through the park heading back to the church, when I heard someone—a baby, crying. I wandered off the path I was walking on, and found a baby girl who was lying by the bodies of her dead parents. She was about one years old with dark brown hair, and the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen. The thing I noticed first was the blood coming from her head all the way down to her shoulder. The whole left side of her body was blood stained, while the rest of her visible skin was covered in red bug bite marks.

"Well she noticed me, and got up stumbling over to me with her arms held up like she wanted me to pick her up. She even clutched at my clothes trying to climb up, anything so I wouldn't leave her alone." Duo drew in a shaky breath, and brushed his hand through his bangs.

"Did you take her with you?" Quatre inquired.

"Of course I did. I didn't want to at first. I mean I had learned how to tough it out on the streets at a young age, but it's weird. There was something about me finding this kid soon after I had just been taken in myself. I got this eerie feeling that I was _meant_ to find her or something. I still don't know what to call it or how to explain it… Anyway, I picked her up, and she felt extremely light and skinny. Mind that I was just seven years old when I found her. I took her to Father Maxwell and he had her in the hospital because the church's medical abilities were limited. The girl was probably half- conscious by the time she got there. I had to wait in the waiting room during the check- up, but the Father told me everything. She hadn't eaten in about 3 days, mosquitos attacked her, the blood that was on her came from someone running a knife from her hairline down the side of her head to just below her shoulder, causing her to become anemic from blood loss and lack of iron."

"What about her parents?" Wufei asked.

"Oh _those _bastards," Duo exclaimed snapping his head up and turning to Wufei, "her parents, Garret and Holli Carter, committed suicide. By taking drug overdoses. The police found the suicide note in the dad's pocket. I wasn't able to read it under Father Maxwell's orders. They found the mom's fingerprints on the bloody knife used to cut her. A bunch of irresponsible lovebirds who couldn't contain themselves, and couldn't raise a kid because they weren't ready. And the worst part was they didn't even _name _her. This was related to me by the Father, but according to friends of the parents they were the type of people who wanted to wait until the kid grew up so they could give her a name that matched her personality.

"But I digress. Luckily she was able to stay at the orphanage with us, and Father Maxwell and Sister Helen let me name her. I named her Nyx. I practically raised her at the same time growing up myself and I adopted her as my little sister, vice versa. Until a day a couple arrived looking to adopt, and they came across spunky Nyx. They took her away about a week before the Maxwell Church Tragedy."

"That must've been so horrible for you…having to lose your sister and a week later your family, friends, and home." Quatre said sympathetically.

Duo shrugged. "Well when you say it like that, it sounds pretty bad. However there's always a bright side to things. I just comes in a compact form."

"What's that?"

"Nyx wasn't killed by the Alliance, and there's still a very slim chance I can see her again."

"Oh. How can you be so sure about that?"

"Well I had a friend who was adopted close to the home of the couple. So before I left I had him promise to keep an eye on her, and update me about every month or so. Hilde even offered to help out with the people she knew living in that area. The thing is, few days ago I heard from Hilde that Nyx was taken and moved to the L4 colony."

"Why?" Heero questioned. Duo had almost forgotten the others were in there.

"I don't know, all Trace, my friend, could tell Hilde was that there was something about a fire. Her foster parents were nowhere to be found so they came and took her away."

"Who?" Quatre asked. "Who took her away?"

Duo gripped his head in frustration and talked through his teeth. These were questions he had already asked himself since he heard, relaying them over when he didn't have a steady answer was beginning to stress him out, "I don't know, most likely those idiots from the Social Welfare Unit who think it's good to just pry and force kids into orphanages! Luckily Trace found out which colony they had taken her to or there was no chance I was ever going to see her again."

"Then, I'll help you find her." Heero mumbled, loud enough for all four Gundam pilots to turn to look at him, Duo's face registering mild shock.

"You will?"

"Sure I have nothing better to do." Heero smirked.

"I'll help, too." Quatre chimed in. "I really want to meet her. I mean a _girl_ you practically _raised_? As _scary_ as that sounds it is actually intriguing."

"Well since Wufei and I don't want to be left out on the search for the missing girl, I guess we could work with Hilde and try to contact some of the orphanages. Right Wufei?" Trowa said grinning at Wufei who glared at him.

"Right…bastard." He grumbled.

Duo blinked and flashed his trademark grin, "Thanks guys. What would I do if I didn't have amigos like you?"

"Kill everyone." They all said in unison.

"So what should we do now?" Quatre asked, excited about going on a rescue mission, even more so excited about meeting a relative of one of his friends.

"Well we should start with the information part first," Wufei suggested, "it'll make your search easier."

"You just want to do your part and get it over with." Trowa accused.

"Correct. That's exactly right."

"Well that _is_ a good idea. Why search for someone if we don't have accurate information? Then it'll just be a waste of time." Quatre explained. "Duo what do you think we should do?"

Duo put a finger to his chin in his thinking pose. "Hm...I like Wufei's idea. Going after her without information is like driving a car with an empty gas tank. You go nowhere. So when you guys get the info Quatre, Heero, and I will race over to L4, find her, and..." He trailed off.

"And then what?"

"How old do you have to be to adopt?" He whispered.

"Thinking about becoming a daddy?" Heero chuckled.

"No I'm serious. I'm not going to abandon her wherever she is. I would feel terrible stopping by, saying 'hi' and leaving for another three years because I was too busy to come back."

"How about we think of this when we get to it." Quatre sighed. "This is getting complicated."

"Yeah...So let's get started." Duo grinned.


	2. Onward to L4! Piggy-O

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, its characters, nor do I own any part of the company or artist that created it. I own Nyx for she is my OC.**

_**Chapter 2: Onward to L4! Piggy-o!**_

Days passed and Duo was getting more and more impatient with how long it was taking to get the information. It was beginning to show in his work as well. He had happened to go overboard while fighting some of OZ's minions and nearly gutted Wufei in the process. Wufei hasn't spoken to him since. Presently he was pacing back and forth in his room when there was a knock on his door. Duo's head snapped up. He could have sworn he heard a little girl's voice outside the door. God now I'm hearing things, he thought as he shook his head and finally sat down on the edge of his bed. "Who is it?" He called.

"Guess who?" A female voice replied in a sing song manner.

"Come in Hilde." He sighed. The door opened revealing the gundam pilot's girlfriend, a former mobile suit pilot for OZ. She walked in with a big smile and a disk in her hand.

"Hey Hilde, what's up?" Duo greeted, keeping his eyes locked on the disk in Hilde's hand.

She held the disk up in front of her face and Duo's eyes followed. "Guess what this is?" Duo quickly, but gently took the disk away and headed over to place the disk in his computer.

Disappointment soon overcame him as Professor G's face appeared on the screen. "Another mission I see.

"Duo Maxwell, your mission today is to infiltrate the L4 colony and" the image of Professor G smiled, "find Nyx Maxwell."

"Say what?" Duo blinked a few times in disbelief.

"You can either accept this mission or not; the choice is entirely up to you. Destroy this disk." The screen went blank.

"Mission accepted." Duo muttered as he sunk onto his bed. Professor G was a hard one to predict that was for sure. He was snapped out of his state when a light flashed in his eyes. He looked to see Hilde with a camera in her hands. "What are you doing?"

She grinned. "I'm doing a collage of emotions. I'm calling this one 'Shocked'; now help me with my next one that I call 'Excited'." She handed Duo a sheet of paper. "This is the list of all the orphanages she could be in on L4. They are the ones that most recently took in a kid within the past month."

"Hilde you are awesome!" The flash assaulted his eyes once more. "Damn it, cut the flash on that thing!"

"You're welcome Duo!" Wufei shouted from another room. Oh now he speaks to me, Duo thought.

"You guys are awesome, too!" Duo shouted back. Though I've gotta make this up to you in some way, Hilds." He whispered, turning back to Hilde.

"Please don't thank me all at once, but…there is this show I've been dying to see, on Friday."

"Say no more; we are going." He kissed her on the cheek, and headed for Quatre and Heero's rooms, grinning broadly. '_Just a few more hours,'_ Duo thought, _'and we'll be together again.'_

They figured that the easiest way to get there would be to get "clearance" to use the Preventer jets and land at the L4 military base. "Duo, how much longer 'til we get there?" Quatre asked through the monitor of his jet.

"Not very long, I guess about five minutes at the most." Duo replied. "Heero did you get that?"

"Loud and clear," was Heero's reply.

Flying at high speed in their space jets, the "clearance" provided courtesy of their inventor guardians, they were headed to L4 to get Nyx.

"Duo one thing I've been meaning to ask you." Heero said.

"Yeah?"

"What's with that thing?" Heero flew beside Duo's jet, pointing at the pink pig with cobalt blue eyes, and a long braid going down its back. Duo frowned, "That's Nyx's toy pig; long story."

"It looks like you," Quatre chuckled flying his jet on the other side of Duo.

"That was the point; now focus." Duo muttered angrily, his face reddening.

"_Do she really have to go?" A young Duo asked the caretakers of the orphanage, his tears stinging his eyes as he held tightly onto the hysterical little girl._

"_Yes, I'm afraid so Duo. I'm sorry." The nun said. "We know how much you love her, but there's a couple who's willing to love her, too. Just think about it this way: do you really want her spending her life in an orphanage?"_

_Duo looked down," No…not really…but if we're together it shouldn't matter. Right?"_

_The father of the church, Father Maxwell, stepped forward. "Duo," he said firmly, "there's a couple out there waiting for their new daughter. They will not want a daughter who's so unwilling to leave. Now Sister Helen and I will wait out in the lobby with Mr. and Mrs. Smith, while you calm her down and get her smiling. You have 10 minutes or else punishment will be awarded."_

_He and Sister Helen left, leaving Duo all alone with a crying Nyx. As hard as it was going to be, he had to let her go. He really didn't want her to spend her life inside an orphanage, but what did Sister Helen and Father Maxwell know? She already had a family here; a mother, father, and plenty of sisters and brothers, namely him. "Hey, stop crying or you'll never get out of here," he whispered, placing a hand on her head, and another on her shoulder. This only made her cry harder._

"_I don't want to go!" She screamed. Duo sat her on the couch in Father Maxwell's study, and sat down beside her._

"_Why not? You'll have so much fun with your new family. I bet, they'll even buy you a puppy. Didn't you always want a puppy?"_

_She nodded through her tears, "But there won't be anyone to play with me or the puppy because you won't be there!"_

_Duo thought quickly," We'll see each other again though."_

_Nyx stopped crying and looked up at him, "Really?"_

"_Really." Duo was trying to figure out whether or not he was telling her a lie, "I'll even come find you myself. Think of it as a big Hide and Seek game, but I can't go searching for you if you don't hide."_

_Nyx grinned. "Okay. I'll go. You're it!" She said as she ran out of the study, giggling like a maniac. Duo walked slowly behind her, trying to lock everything about her in his memory. They reached the lobby where the Smiths were waiting, along with Sister Helen and Father Maxwell._

"_I see you're ready to go, Nyx." Mr. Smith smiled. "Believe me when I say you're going to like it with us."_

_Sister Helen was the first to burst into tears, and pull her into a hug. "Take care, dear child, we're going to miss you around here."_

_Next was Father Maxwell, who placed a hand upon her head, and gave her his blessing. "Don't forget about us."_

_Lastly, it was Duo, who could hardly contain the tears that threatened to spill at any moment. He stooped down to her level, and Nyx wiped his eyes with her small hands, "Don't cry Duo, we'll see each other again, right?"_

_Normally, Duo would deny that he was showing such a vulnerable emotion, but instead he smiled and nodded, "Right."_

_Nyx reached into her going away bag, and took out the stuffed pig that Sister Helen had helped Duo make for her on her fourth birthday. It was sewn to look exactly like him; in some areas. "Here, take Piggy-o." She said, holding it out to him. Duo's eyes widened a bit._

"_No way I gave that to you for your birthday keep it!"_

"_Take it! I don't want you to _have_ him I just want you to _hold_ him for me. You can give him back to me when we see each other again! Okay?"_

_Duo took the pig from her," Alright."_

_Nyx smiled and hugged him, which he quickly returned. "I'll miss you Duo." She whispered._

"_I'll miss you too, Nyx."_

_They let each other go, and Duo watched as his little sister walked out of his life. As soon as the car drove off Duo held the animal close to his chest and muttered, "I'm afraid I'll be holding onto this pig forever."_

"Duo?!" Quatre yelled.

"What?" Duo said, snapping out of his reverie.

"There it is!"

Duo looked in the direction Quatre was pointing and there it was, just a bit away. All three jets swerved down to the military landing base for the colony.


	3. Searching

_**Chapter 3: Searching**_

Duo ran through the busy streets, alone and searching for the first orphanage on the list of orphanages that Hilde gave him. "If only Quatre and Heero were here this would be a whole lot easier. 'We're going to have to hold your friends in custody.' Paranoid bastards." Duo muttered to himself, skidding to a stop when he spotted the red sign with the name of the first orphanage on the list, Love for Children Orphanage. The sound of the name made Duo sick to his stomach. It sounded like it could be hiding mass maltreatment of its vulnerable children, like that one movie Sister Helen had them watch about the little red headed girl and the dog. What was her name? Amanda, Addie something.

Duo ran into the small building, it looked normal enough, and walked up to the front desk. There was a woman in her late thirties at the desk, absorbed in a teen magazine. When Duo casually cleared his throat she looked up and smiled at him. "Hello and welcome to 'Love for Children Orphanage.' What can I do for you, hun?" She said.

"Um…I'm looking for a kid about 7 years old. Her name's Nyx. Is she here?"

"No, sorry we only keep from infant to age 4 here. You're too young to adopt anyway, young man." She said narrowing her eyes accusingly. Duo grounded his teeth together in agitation. He really did not like being told what he could and couldn't do. Muttering a "thanks anyway," he turned on his heel and bolted out of the door. Okay minor setback, he thought, but one down five to go. Luckily, the next orphanage on the list was only four blocks away.

He skidded to a stop at the entrance. As soon as he was in he asked the first person he spotted, which happened to be an old woman. "Excuse me, do you work here?"

The woman blinked in surprise and smiled, "Of course I do, and I own the place. How can I help you, dear?"

"Well I'm looking for my sister, her name's Nyx, she's about 7 years old. Is she here?"

The woman shook her head, "I've owned this place for 25 years and there has never been any girl that showed up here with such a...," she smiled apologetically at Duo, "_unique_ name."

Duo would have let it go and moved on, but he wasn't sure if he could trust this woman's memory all too well, "Are you _sure_ she's not here? She's about the same height…as well you know, a seven year old. Dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a scar on her face? No one has shown up here matching that description?"

This time the woman's brows furrowed up in thought before she shook her head, "Sorry dear, but I've never seen such a girl. She might be at one of the newer orphanages."

Why the hell were there so many orphanages in one colony anyway? There're more places to store kids than there are grocery stores, Duo thought as he handed the paper to the woman, "Could you point out the newer orphanages out of these?"

"Oh well dear, um…let's see the newest one would have to be 'Pleasant Futures for Needed Children.'" Duo grimaced at the name. "The next newest is 'Yvette's House' and the one that came before that was 'Carlita's Castle.' All of the rest are decades old. 'Carlita's Castle is an all girls' home for orphans." She smiled as she handed Duo back the paper. "Good luck."

"Thank you so much!" He said, sprinting for the door. "Okay next stop is Pleasant blah blah blah blah." He exclaimed out loud as he hit the streets.

Duo dodged a football flying in his direction. "Sorry mister," he heard a boy yell, but Duo was too busy heading to the owner's office for the apology to register. There was a rather large woman sitting at an L-shaped desk with a computer resting on top. She smiled warmly as Duo entered the room, "Hello sweetie what can I do for you?" Her voice was awkwardly very high in pitch.

"I'm looking for my sister. Her name's Nyx and she's seven years old. Could she be here?"

The woman blinked a couple of times before turning to her computer. "Could you spell it for me?" She asked opening up a program.

"N-Y-X." Duo spelled, mentally crossing his fingers. His hopes were soon dashed when the lady shook her head.

"Sorry sweetie, there's no Nyx here."

Duo sighed, feeling less than hopeful by now. "Thanks anyway," he muttered as he turned to do some more running.

"Hold on."

He turned sharply, hoping to hear that the lady had overlooked the three lettered name, "Yeah?"

"I could call around to the other orphanages and ask-"

_Crash._

The lady rose to her feet and wobbled to the door to find the source of the noise. "EMMANUEL!" She yelled and the fainter sound of sneakers squeaking across the floor indicated that whatever was coming as punishment Duo did not want to stick around to witness. With a groan he ran his hand through his bangs and rested his forehead on his palm. "I can't take much more of this. I'll be half dead by the time I find her today. That is if I find her." He grumbled to himself before finding his way back into the streets.

No wonder why Carlita's Castle was called a castle. It was huge church, the architecture resembling an old cathedral. The last time Duo had ever been in a church was the day his faith in humanity had shattered. But that wasn't why he hesitated now. There was this weird feeling that had appeared when Duo ran up the stairs to the door. Almost like déjà vu, but a strange pull of adrenaline that lead him into the hall of the building. He began to walk, not knowing where, still being held captive by this unshakeable force. He walked until he found himself knocking on a door. The door opened revealing a nun with brown eyes and a pleasant smile. "Well hello young one what can I do for you? I'm Sister Jane."

Duo stuttered for the words, his throat suddenly dry. This woman looked almost exactly like… "G-Good evening Sister, forgive my interruption, but I'm looking for my sister, ahem, little sister."

Sister Jane gave a glance back into the room before stepping completely into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. "Now young one, what's your name?"

"Duo Maxwell."

"Duo Maxwell," she repeated, "follow me."

Duo was lead down this long corridor, through multiple rooms until Sister Jane told him to go into this little office where prospective parents sit and speak with their potential child. "What is your little sister's name Mr. Maxwell?" She asked, lingering at the door. She looked like she wanted to ask him something else.

"He name's Nyx. She was probably brought here about three or four weeks ago."

"Oh! Nyx…is _your_ sister?" Duo watched in confusion as she chuckled to herself. "I teach bible study for the group that Nyx is in, ages six to nine. God told me he was going to give me a blessing to give to someone today. I think he was giving me a heads up on your arrival."

As nice as that statements sounded, there was nothing that was going to lead Duo to believe that God was the reason for leading him here. But Nyx was here, and his search was done. "So…is she here? I mean, can I see her?"

"Of course! She's out for recess, but I'll get her for you." Sister Jane turned and opened the door that she had been standing by. She let out a startled gasp. "Young lady-"

"I didn't do it!" A child's voice shouted quickly in reply before she could be scolded. Sister Jane turned to look at Duo with a smile.

"It seems my job has been done for me."

Instantly, Duo's heart began racing. This was not the plan. Well, it was, kind of. What was he going to say? How was she going to react? Would she remember him after three years? Would she want to go back with him? All of these questions came at him at once as Sister Jane stepped aside. There in the doorway looking exactly the same as he had last seen her with the exception of her hair having grown and her slight increase in height was his little sister.

"Nyx?" Duo choked out.

Sister Jane smiled and motioned her in the office, "Nyx, dear, do you know who this is?"

Nyx nodded, her eyes starting to water, "Yes, but he's not here for me."

Duo took this as his cue to say something. How did one respond to a statement like that? "Of course, remember what I said about our hide and seek game? I fou-" The tears started falling slowly down her face. "Nyx?"

"No! You're _not _here! You're dead!" She screamed as she started to sob. Sister Jane quickly rushed to her side to comfort her, casting a suspicious look at Duo, who stood there dumbfounded.

"I'm…dead?" Duo whispered. The question that never crossed his mind now stood at the forefront of his thoughts. What if she thought I was dead all of this time?

**A/N: Okay that's the chapter 3 that I had written for over four years now and never published! The ending of this chapter is different, but I will post another chapter soon! Give me your opinions! Thanks for reading everyone!**


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